| Note: If signing up for a higher level Covered Cartouche round, you must keep the certificate that qualifies you for that round in your inventory until the random distribution has been completed. If the certificate is not in your inventory at the time the signup timer expires and the distribution is finalized, you will not be selected. (I have also been told that certificates are not effective until they have been read. I have no confirmation that this is a requirement, but it can't hurt to read them, using your Special menu while you have them in inventory. Don't worry about the fact that the text on the certificate doesn't really make sense.) |
First, a ritual voting booth must be constructed. It costs:
(it did cost 4 sheet glass, 200 boards, 10 cut stone, 10 linen, and one piece of oyster shell marble, the first time someone built the booth, but that was apparently just this first time). Only one can be constructed. Pharaoh stated that the voting booth will be salvagable after completion of the test.
The building Forest of Light costs (for the base, smallest version, which you can upgrade after): 113 Boards, 21 Copperwire, 1 sheet glass, 1 Forest green paint, 1 glass rod, 1 Saddle Brown paint.
The test itself consists of a series of rounds, each of one of two types: Building and Voting. In each round, one person is eliminated. Rounds last approximately 24 hours. They can end later or earlier by up to ten percent (Pharaoh stated this was to keep people from timing their building to the very last minute). There was also mention of a version of the test with much quicker rounds (so the test could be completed in one play session) but that has not yet been seen.
In the building round, a random building type is chosen. They are similar to obelisks in that that any size can be built, with increasing construction costs for larger sizes. Unlike obelisks, the build method is to make a base of fixed cost, and then expand the building one or more times later. You cannot reposition or tear down the building - at all.
Each building has a base cost, and for every full 20 size the cost doubles. Between multiples of 20 size the cost increases linearly, and is rounded to the nearest whole number of resources (0.5 rounds up). This means that a size 1 building actually costs 1/20th more than the base cost.
The goal of a building round is to avoid having the building with the smallest size. The name tags (or cartouches) on these buildings are covered (get it?), so you cannot tell who owns what building. (Unless you see somebody build one, of course, so you might want to find a private place where you won't be seen.)
In the event of a tie for smallest building, one person involved in the tie will be randomly disqualified.
There are believed to be 13 different buildings, they all require a small site. The following buildings are known :
(I believe this was updated to 18 types of buildings ... but haven't been able to find a definitive answer ... -Hirokache)
(All quantities are for base buildings; upgrades use a certain quantity of each of these materials that grows with the size of the building -Akanethon).
Note that each time you build, all components in the building are consumed. Do not, as i tried to do, pre-load large quantities of the cheaper components and then try to step up the size by adding the more expensive ones a little at a time. The first time you complete a build you lose everything, and will be starting from scratch for your next size bump.
Voting rounds are typically shorter than building rounds. In a voting round, each player must travel to the ritual voting booth to cast a vote. At the end of the round, the person with the most votes is disqualified. In the event of a deadlock, a random player (who is involved in the deadlock) is disqualified. If no-one votes in the whole group, the group is considered to have forfeit the contest and everyone loses (vote in a circle for the same effect without forfeiting).
There are 2 levels of competition a player must win before passing the Test of the Covered Cartouche.
According to a conversation with Teppy on IRC, he said this about passing the test:
If you get on a certain place in a competition, you're rewarded with n(according to placement in the competition) certificates for the next level. When you enter a competition, you enter one for the highest level you got a certificate for(That's how I understood it - Aldaturo). One certificate for this level is "consumed", so when you're out of certificates you move down one level. You win the test when getting among the final 3 (or 4) in a level 3 contest (This has now been shortened to 2 levels of competetion instead of 3.)
(See also: Covered Cartouche Schedule, Cartouche Groups, tests)
http://www.mihe.org/funpic/covered_cartouche/cartouche.html
to see the animated GIF and JPG of the buildings.
If you happen to build any new type, please /chat Tickle in game, I'd like to update it in this page. :) Thank you